Tuesday, March 1st, 2016

We left the finca at 1pm, I gave the black dog a dog biscuit and I tossed one to the other black dog.  

When we got to the top of the hill we saw a man in a Caterpillar backhoe and a wall of dirt about 4-5 feet high blocking the entire width of the sideroad.  I understood they are widening the path by removing part of the hill.  Teresa talked to the man for a minute and finally I walked down to the dirt, chose the lowest area (about 4 feet high), stepped into it (it was very loose dirt), sank a little but managed to climb over it.  I helped Teresa do the same and then I sat down, took off my shoes, brushed off my socks, emptied the dirt out of my shoes, put them back on and we continued on our way.

We ran into Guillermo coming up the path with his Styrofoam container. 

We waited about 15 minutes for a bus.  Today I saw road construction where they are removing the side of a hill apparently to connect the tunnels with the new bridge.

We got off at La Estrella station, took the metro to San Antonio, transferred to the west line and got off at the Estadio station.  We took a taxi to an apartment building.  We were early for her face care appointment so we went across the street to The Town Barber Shop where I got a haircut for 18,000 pesos.  I think it’s too short but at least I don’t have to look at myself and Teresa likes it.

Back across the street, security let us in an apartment building and we took an elevator to the 3^rd floor.  A woman started working on Teresa on a “massage” table while I sat outside on the balcony enjoying the rare breeze.  I was looking down on about a block long army area with roadway barricades and a guard with an AK-47 type weapon at each end.

Teresa’s procedure took 2 hours and cost 75mil plus another 25mil for a small jar of face cream.  The woman, Beatriz, also gave her a piece of an aloe plant.  As we were leaving another woman came in who I guess was a friend that Teresa hadn’t seen for sometime.  We sat in the living room and they got caught up on things.  We left about 45 minutes later.

We took a taxi to the bus stop across from Viva Mall and walked to the corner where I added 50mil to my cell phone.  Beatriz, my old laundress, was there and I learned she doesn’t do laundry anymore.  Big busted Sophia (at least that’s what my brother calls her (Sophia, not big busted)), the owner, was also there and was happy that I called her by that name.

We walked across the street, through Viva mall and across the street to Mall Laureles.  I wanted to order chile from El Comedor de Chava but after the 3^rd repetition I understood they close at 7pm on Tuesdays and it was 7:05pm.  I ordered ribs and a Pepsi from Gordog’s for 14mil and Teresa ordered a Frisburrito and smoothie from Frisby for 12,300.  The ribs were tasty and included fries and a small salad of sliced tomatoes and lettuce.

We took a Circular Sur 302 bus to Aguacatala, and a bus to Caldas.  On the way a woman got on and sat in the seat in front and to the side of me.  She opened a plastic bag and a receipt fell out.  I picked it up and handed it to her.  She took out what looked like a textbook.  She opened it and scanned the pages.  I saw Spanish on the left side pages and what looked likeAarabic on the right side pages.  Later she used her cell phone and I saw some Arabic writing.  Then she took a smaller book out of her purse and it said something like Khabalista on the cover and I saw more Arabic writing.

We got off in Caldas and Teresa picked up this month’s electric bill.  We took a bus back to the finca but I sat backwards over the transmission and Teresa sat on the steps.  Because the road is changing, it was dark and I was sitting backwards I couldn’t recognize where we should get off but luckily Teresa was paying attention.  Luckily the sideroad was now clear of dirt.  Teresa made me turn off my cell phone light, there was no moon and since I couldn’t see very well I slowed down considerably.  The black dog came out but I was out of dog biscuits.

We got back to the finca by 9:15.

Teresa told me it would be a good idea to take advantage of the man with the backhoe to have him widen the area next to the finca as a turnaround for cars like Walter’s taxi.

I read on Expat Exchange that if the Proof of Life form isn’t received by Social Security they turn off your payments in March not January.  I guess I’ll soon find out if they received my form in Miami.

T-shirt of the day: Choose happiness.